The Only Combined Cardiologist and Nephrologist (Heart and Kidney)Specialist in the World is a Nigerian, Dr. Olurotimi Badero

5May 10, 2017By Dang

My name is Olurotimi Badero. I am a specialist physician, a Cardiologist (both general and interventional, a Nephrologist (both general and interventional) as well as a peripheral vascular specialist. I attended University of Ife (now known as Obafemi Awolowo University), College of health Sciences.

After completion of my NYSC service year, I moved to the United States for further education.

Initially, I was not an ideal student because I would skip classes and sometimes not show up for tests etc. You know it is easy to choose between right and wrong. But what is more difficult is choosing the wrong that is more right. Gradually towards the end of my clinical years in medical school, I started investing myself in the process and it became fun.

Most of my training during my career have been fraught with lots of challenges at every stage; I made it through medical school and got to the US, where I faced even stiffer challenges at every stage of my career. I did not have the opportunity to train as a cardiologist initially but I did not let that deter me because I believed in God and if you believe in God and stay true to yourself, you will eventually arrive at your destination. You know…trials keep you strong, failure keeps you humble…but only faith keeps you going.

I persevered and had to train, first as a nephrologist and an interventional nephrologist. The opportunity to train as a cardiologist would later present itself and I took it. This meant spending more years, which obviously had its challenges.

But every morning I tell myself I have two choices; continue to sleep with my dreams or wake up and chase them. I decided to do the latter. I eventually found myself in the field of cardio-nephrology and when I discovered I was the first to do it, I was quite surprised in a nice way.”